Physics is the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. The subject matter of physics, distinguished from that of chemistry and biology, includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.

To the outside observer, it may seem that physics is in some ways the opposite of art and that physicists must sacrifice their artistic intelligence to make way for cold rationality and logic. But nothing could be farther from the truth: Each step forward in our understanding of the universe could not have been conceived without an enormous dose of intuition and creativity.